kidneys in the news

I found this story this morning...it's worth a read. And here's a link to the author's blog.

A few facts quoted in the story:

20 million Americans - 1 in 9 adults - have Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) and another 20 million more are at increased risk. Heart disease is the major cause of death for all people with CKD. Hypertension causes CKD and CKD causes hypertension. High risk groups include those with diabetes, hypertension and family history of kidney disease. African Americans, Hispanics, Pacific Islanders, Native Americans and the elderly are at increased risk. About 200,000 Americans suffer from kidney failure and need an artificial kidney machine to stay alive.

I took a walk with my dad yesterday after Sunday family lunch. He said to me, "Now, I can't walk too fast. I just kinda stumble along." He did just fine...and it was nice father-daughter time.....no politics, just life.

life in war

On Monday morning as I was driving to work, I heard this story on NPR (Morning Edition). If I were you I would click the "listen" button from the the story link. I just think it's more effective when you hear his voice. I actually got tears in my eyes...but don't worry, most people won't. I just felt so sad about what this war has done to so many people and countries. It's a reporter's reflection on Iraq right after the invasion....compared to now. Give it a listen.



Tonight is the Bob Dylan concert. Did I mention SEVENTH ROW?? :-) I haven't even blogged about last week's events yet...good grief, I'm behind!!!!!!

i've chosen

the washington post

On January 28, 2007 I was among a group of 14 Democrats that met at a local restaurant to talk about the 2008 Democratic Presidential Candidates. My daughter and I were both quoted in the article which focused a lot on Hilary Clinton. Anyway, it was fun and interesting...and I can't believe I didn't blog about it then.

Fast forward 8 months to Friday, October 5, 2007. Ten of the 14 of us reconvened with Dan Balz (yes, that's the reporter's name...BALZ...thank goodness he isn't a middle school teacher). It was interesting because at the first meeting, we were all undecided...that was part of how we were selected to be interviewed. This time many have not only picked a candidate, but are working for them...making phone calls, knocking on doors, etc. I am still undecided.

I really enjoyed the 90 minute conversation about politics. 90 minutes talking about something that I love to discuss...with no one calling someone a "pinko commie liberal" or something like that. I haven't had that for a long time. Not that everyone agreed, that's for sure. The first time we met, everyone was fairly agreeable that, as democrats, we had a great group of people to pick from. Keeping in mind that we were all undecided, we still had our favorites, but for the most part, there weren't any harsh words or anything even close. This interview was a bit different. There were a few emotions. Not like tears or actual anger or anything like that...but still emotional. For example, there were two women that sighed loudly and rolled their eyes every time Sen. Clinton was mentioned. Of the top tier of candidates, Clinton is my least favorite for several reasons...but I was still a bit offended or maybe a better way to put it would be worried. What I didn't say...but should have....

There were insults flying, especially toward Sen. Clinton, and I think that's dangerous. It is quite likely that she will be the candidate...no matter what Iowans think. If she is...we best not be screaming insults her way at this time...it could come back to bite us in the ass. Not that I think this little article in the WaPo is going to bring Hillary down!! But I think, Democrats, as a whole need to be careful what they say. Do I think we should lie? Hell no. However, I bet if I asked those two women if they thought Clinton was qualified to be president...if I asked them if she would do a good job....they would say yes. They happen to think another candidate would be a better selection...but that doesn't mean that Clinton sucks. It goes back to what we all said during the first interview...we are lucky...we have several very qualified candidates to choose from. Unlike the other side of the political arena....YIKES, some of these guys are scary as hell.

Here is a link to the article, although Zoot Daze said that he didn't learn anything from it, you might want to give it a quick read (my quote is on page 2). Below is the picture that was published with the article. YUK! Mainly I put it here because of the typo that was published with it. Geez.



According to this online quiz, "my candidate" is either Gravel or Kucinich (neither of which I would caucus for). All that does is confirm that I am a freak, I suppose. :-) I don't mind though. So I'm a freak. Could be worse.

This morning as I walked out my door the sunrise was spectacular. It was a deep red-orange concentrated at the horizon, and then as the colors spread further into the sky the red gradually released to an almost pure orange.

I went to the handi-mart for my usual 32 oz. diet dr. pepper fountain pop. When I walked out of the handi-mart (I think it's actually casey's now) I was facing west. By this time the entire sky was lit up in color. But it wasn't the sky that caught my attention, it was the buildings. Still facing west I noticed that the buildings were glowing with the colors of the sky. They looked like the exact salmon color that is so prevalent in Florida. It reminded me of the good times I had there nearly two years ago.

As I drove to school, the concentrated color at the horizon was gone, but the sky was still beautiful.

Today is Gillian Welch's 40th birthday. I really like her. Here's a pic of her and Dave Rawlings. I saw them back in August in Des Moines. It was a great show. Dave in particular made me smile.


I'm a sucker for those "duos". Truckstop Honeymoon is going to be at this venue this weekend.